Pearl Jam conquers Worcester

Last night, for the first of two concerts at the newly renovated DCU Center, Vedder —the singer, songwriter and sometimes third guitarist for Pearl Jam — led his fellow Seattle rockers through a mesmerizing, three-hour, 32-song performance that included two encores (one of which was seven songs long; the other five) and plenty of crowd-pleasing baseball talk.

Vedder — who packs in more serious soul-searching musings in a three-minute ditty than most rockers come up with during their whole career — is still a commanding frontman whose voice and stage presence gets better with age. While Vedder is Pearl Jam's soul, it's his band-mates — lead guitarist and resident guitar god Mike McCready, rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard, bassist Jeff Ament and drummer Matt Cameron, as well as touring keyboardist Boom Gaspar — who are the pulsating rock 'n' roll heart that makes the songs come alive.

And alive they did come.

One of the few bands that doesn't tour with a fixed set list, Pearl Jam played seven songs from its new album, "Lightning Bolt," which was released just hours before the show, as well as four cuts each from the band's 1991 debut, "Ten," and 1994's "Vitalogy," three songs each from 1993's "Vs." and 2009's "Backspacer," two songs from 1996's "No Code," a single song each from 1998's "Yield," 2000's "Binaural," 2002's "Riot Act," and 2003's "Big Fish: Music from the Motion Picture."

Also in the mix were three choice covers, an unreleased outtake and a hard-to-find B side.

I can't think of a better way to open the next chapter of the DCU Center than to reopen the venue with arguably the greatest rock band out there that is still making new music. This was the first time Pearl Jam ever played in Worcester, and the sold-out crowd of 13,000 on Tuesday night was treated to something special.

And the best thing is, Pearl Jam is back there again tonight.

With the stage illuminated by elaborate Japanese lanterns dangling from retractable cables (that doubled as punching bags and kickballs later in the show), Pearl Jam came barreling out of the starting gate and provided an even flow of stellar rockers throughout the evening.

Armed with his cumbersome-looking book of poetry and a bottle of red wine, Vedder's gravelly croon caressed the set opener "Release," until it became a cathartic release and the evening's first showstopper that hinted at the great music to come.

Sporting a "Boston Strong" patch on his jacket's sleeve, the scruffy singer continued his hitting streak with "Long Road." Despite often being shrouded in shadows and darkness, Vedder was always a glowing presence.

"Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" started as sparse acoustic character study before erupting into a massive singalong with Vedder and the crowd. Not only that, the stage was lit up — or was it the wattage of this powerhouse vocalist, who ended the number with the first of many Pete Townshend-inspired jumps in the air (which seemed a little out of place for such a modest, little number).

Although unfamiliar to most in the audience, "Lightning Bolt" (the title track to Pearl Jam's latest) was a bona fide crowd-pleaser. This rowdy and rambunctious ditty about a girl who's a real live wire had plenty of ferocious guitar licks, pummeling drums and not just one but two Townshend-inspired jumps, which, in this case, seemed totally called-for.

With its serious guitar riffage and hooligan, back-talking vocals, "Mind Your Manners," also from "Lightning Bolt," was arguably Pearl Jam's best bid for a legitimate hard-core punk rocker in some time.

After "Hail, Hail" (in which the audience were the lucky ones), Vedder took a momentary break from singing to say hello and yuck it up with the crowd.

"Hello Worchester. I'm (expletive) with you, Worcester," Vedder said, the latter of which he pronounced perfectly. He also referenced the Red Sox' ALCS Game 3 win, which had happened less than an hour before. Talk about back-to-back victories in the same night.

"Even Flow," from the band's debut, "Ten," was as powerful and potent as ever, with its incendiary guitar licks and powder-keg drumming.

"Nothing As It Seems" was an intense slow-burner, which culminated with Vedder dangling from his microphone stand as if he was emotionally drained and his legs have given way.

"Red Mosquito" was an irresistible swamp boogie that erupted into a rip-roaring jam, while the ferocious "Whipping" was enough to give a novice head-banger a serious case of self-inflicted whiplash.

Vedder was his bile-spewing best on the triumphant "Corduroy," which is still one of Pearl Jam's best songs with a god-awful title.

One of the evening's "toast-worthy moments" (which served as an excuse for Vedder to drink), the Pearl Jam frontman talked about the dozen-and-a-half shows the band has played in the Boston area and how there are very, very few places on earth that they love more.

If Vedder doesn't lay off the red wine, he might earn the reputation of being the Aldo Cella of rock 'n' roll. Seriously, he downed a few bottles of the stuff.

Vedder sounded like a combination rock 'n' roll preacher, street hustler and Good Humor man on the no-frills, full-throttle, straightforward rocker, "Got Some," while on the dissidence-friendly, foul-mouthed spewing "Save You," Vedder offered harsh words and tough love, all in an effort to aid a troubled friend.

The highlight of "Let the Records Play" (another new one) was McCready's blistering guitar solo that he played with his ax literally behind his back.

After the deliciously depraved sermon, "Do the Evolution," Vedder amusingly joked that the band could stop early so everybody could go home and watch the Dodgers and then he talked about how he was there at Fenway Park for Big Papi's grand slam in the bottom of the eighth in Game 2 of the ALCS.

"Now, I have a strong belief in God. His name is David Ortiz, No. 34," Vedder said. Gee, does this guy know how to win over a Bay State crowd?

On the set's closer, "Better Man," the crowd sang the first verse entirely without Vedder's help. Then, the crowd came to its senses and allowed Vedder to join in.

Resembling a traveling version of "VH1: Storytellers" that was strictly for Pearl Jam diehards (and there were certainly plenty of those in the audience), the first encore started as a sit-down affair.

After a heartfelt version of the tender-loving ode "Man of the Hour" (which was dedicated to the late Howard Zinn, author of "A People's History of the United States"), the effects of the wine were starting to show on Vedder.

Vedder gave a compassionate testimony on how the band's thoughts were with Boston when the marathon bombing happened and their thoughts are still with them now. The sentiment was touching and greatly appreciated, but then it got convoluted and unintentionally comic when Vedder pondered if the powers of the world could band together to fight 25-foot aliens. Huh? When all else fails, resort back to Big Papi's blast in the eighth, which Vedder did.

Not only did Vedder give one lucky person in the audience a vinyl copy of Pearl Jam's new record, this act of generosity also served as a fitting introduction to "Spin the Black Circle," which, the singer called his favorite means of transportation.

During "Porch," Vedder did an impromptu Tarzan impersonation, swinging from one of the lighting cables as if it were vine, whilehis band-mates erupted into a Who-worthy jam that sounded as if it had been lifted out of the "Live at Leeds" era.

For the second encore, Pearl Jam played a cover of Wayne Cochran's "Last Kiss" to those in the nosebleed seats behind the stage.

During his intense reading of Victoria Williams' "Crazy Mary," Vedder literally took a bottle, drank it down and then passed it around, just like the song says.

The audience, which Vedder praised as a "great, great, great, great (expletive) crowd," reached a fevered pitch during the rock anthem, "Alive," which was followed by the Dead Boys' infectious punk rave-up "Sonic Reducer" and the very last song of the evening, "Indifference."